Method and apparatus for staging send transactions

ABSTRACT

A method for performing transactions comprises receiving registration information and transaction specifications, generating a distribution profile based on the registration information, and storing the transaction specifications in the distribution profile. The distribution profile is identified based on an initiation instruction and associated user authentication data, and one of the transaction specifications in the distribution profile is identified based on the initiation instruction. Payment source status is verified and a send transaction is initiated, based on the payment source status.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/443,466, filed Feb. 27, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/078,081, filed Mar. 23, 2016, and issued Mar. 7,2017 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,589,267, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/695,240, filed Apr. 24, 2015, and issued Mar.29, 2016, as U.S. Pat. No. 9,299,068, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/271,699, filed May 7, 2014, and issuedMay 19, 2015 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,033,223, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/052,433, filed Oct. 11, 2013, and issuedMay 13, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,720,773, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 113/770,719, filed Feb. 19, 2013, and issuedOct. 29, 2013 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,567,668, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/553,243, filed Jul. 19, 2012, andissued Mar. 5, 2013 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,387,868, which is a continuationof U.S. patent aplication Ser. No. 13/017,477, filed Jan. 31, 2011, andissued Jul. 24, 2012 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,225,992, which is a continuationof U.S. application Ser. No. 11/608,040, filed Dec. 7, 2006, and issuedFeb. 1, 2011 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,393, each of which is incorporatedby reference herein, in the entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to an apparatus and methods fortransferring money or monetary value. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to a system for managing data and communications tospecify, fund and execute multiple money transfers for a customer.

It is increasingly common for funds to be transferred electronically.This can occur from individual to individual or from business tobusiness or between an individual and a business. The transfers mayoccur within one country or across borders, from one country intoanother, and thus may involve a currency change.

For individuals, such transfers are often handled as one-timetransactions funded with cash. In many cases this is because theindividual sending the funds lacks an account at a bank or a creditcard. Thus, the funds for each transfer must be provided in cash (orequivalent), paid separately before each transaction.

This one-at-a-time, cash approach is not efficient for either thesending individual or for the bank or non-bank financial institutionsinvolved in money transfers. One answer is for the individual to developa banking relationship and get an account for writing checks or usinghome banking to make payments. However, the sender's individualsituation does not always permit this. Moreover, checks and home bankingforms of payment may not work well when the payment recipient is anindividual without an account and when a currency change is involved.Non-bank financial institutions have well-developed solutions for doingmoney transfers across borders, where a currency change is involved andalso for delivering payments in cash or other useful forms to arecipient. However, these systems were developed primarily for single,separate transactions funded and executed one at a time.

Moreover, the systems within the institution may use separate dataprocessing platforms that have evolved around the particularrequirements of certain agent groups or types of transactions andassociated risks. The result is that some transactions or particularvarieties of such transactions, e.g., forms of delivery of payout, arenot available from all platforms.

Thus, there is a need for improved money transfer systems and methodsthat assist an “unbanked” sender (customer) in making money transfersand to provide a non-bank financial institution with procedures thatminimize the amount of customer and personnel time per transaction andthat are otherwise economically efficient.

SUMMARY

One embodiment is a method of performing a transaction that begins withreceiving registration information including payment sourceidentification and building a distribution profile. The method proceedsby receiving and storing in the distribution profile transactionspecifications for staging one or more send transactions, receiving asend initiation instruction with associated authentication data andresponsive thereto identifying a distribution profile and at least onesend transaction specification. The method verifies the status of thepayment source and initiates a send transaction according to thetransaction specification. A corresponding system and software implementthe method.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments. Theinvention is capable of modifications in various aspects, all withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system for performing moneytransfer transactions.

FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram showing the components used in amoney transfer system.

FIG. 3 is a set of exemplary simplified customer interfaces useful ininitiating a money transfer transaction and managing a customer account.

FIG. 4 is flowchart of the process for registering and accepting updateand/or transaction instructions from a customer using the presentsystem.

FIGS. 5A-5D are sample screens for an implementation of the system.

FIG. 6 is an example of a security filter decision matrix for use withthe present system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Basic Elements of System. As discussed above, a non-bank financialinstitution (NBFI) may have well developed systems for making certainmoney transfers and wish to expand their use. One important form ofthese money transfers is a transfer from a sender individual to anotherindividual, which may be set up in a first, staging phase and completedin a second, fulfillment stage. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,203,titled “System and Method for Performing Money Transfer Transactions”;see also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,502,747, 6,761,309). These transfers are oftencross-border transactions where currency exchange and/or regulatorycompliance components are necessary parts of the system. (Seeapplication Ser. No. 11/068,090, titled “Method and Apparatus for MoneyTransfer,” filed Feb. 28, 2005, issued Aug. 31, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No.7,258,268.) To help control risk and because, for many senders, cash istheir only form of funds, the money transfer transactions are usually“one-off.” They are initiated only after the sending NBFI or its agentreceives cash for a particular send transaction.

Often the NBFI has a variety of transfer types and payout options thatthe sender can select to suit the sender's desires and to accommodatethe recipient. These are useful to the sender but also add complexity tothe transaction if the parameters are re-specified with eachtransaction. After specifying the transaction parameters, the sendermakes a cash payment to cover the amount transferred plus fees, and thenthe NBFI executes the transfer to the recipient. Some NBFIs offer aspart of their money transfer system bill payment to specific billerswith whom the NBFI has a relationship. Such bill payment transactionsare also typically initiated with a cash payment and thus are “one-off,”too. For some NBFIs there are multiple data processing platforms thathave evolved to handle different money transfer situations. Certainvarieties of money transfers (including bill payment) may be availableon only one or less than all platforms. Thus, a cash-based customer whocan only use one platform may not have access to all the NBFI's moneytransfer options.

Recently, NBFIs have made arrangements that permit certain transactionsperformed online to be funded with funds from a bank account that is setup for online transactions. See e.g.,www.emoneygram.com/eMoneyGram/index.do. However, that is only helpfulfor senders who are able to set up such a bank account relationship.NBFIs desire to expand their business by providing additional services,available to more customers. The system described herein provides anextension and improvement of existing systems that gives NBFI customersgreater control and convenience in making multiple money transfers. Thispermits the NBFI to build more continuing and broader customerrelationships.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system 100 for performingdistribution of money transfer transactions and its surroundingenvironment. The main participants in the system are the customers 10(typically individuals, but also small businesses) and a non-bankfinancial institution (NBFI) that already has effective money transfersystems in operation at its data center 102 and wishes to extend theirutility and attract additional customers. Part of the NBFI's system 100is one or more customer access portals 20 that provide access to one ormore variants of the NBFI's services. These may include one or morecustomer service centers with customer services representatives (CSRs)to handle telephone calls from customers and to access relevant data atthe NBFI's data center 102. (The customer service center may be a singlegeographical location or a number of locations networked together toprovide sufficient CSRs, with appropriate language capability, toeffectively handle the contacts initiated by customers.) Also used toaccess the NBFI's system are NBFI “agents,” businesses independent ofthe NBFI that work under contract with the NBFI and have agent terminalswith communication links to the NBFI to serve as customer contact pointsfor send transactions and also to act as contacts points for moneytransfer recipients. Other devices or portals for accessing the existingNBFI data center 102 systems may include websites accessible by personalcomputers, mobile computers, mobile phones and PDAs or interactive voiceresponse systems, all communicating with the NBFI's CSRs and/or datacenter 102. In the present system 100 the access portals 20 communicatewith a transaction distribution controller 50 running at the data center102, which interacts with distribution profiles 52 built for customers10 and their range of money transfer transactions.

Other participants in the system 100 are outside verification services40 and various funding sources 80. The verification services 40 may beused to help ensure the accuracy of registration information fromcustomers 10. For example, for confirming accuracy of a name, address,telephone number, or other information an individual may provide, averification service that has aggregated and correlated large amounts ofpublicly available information may be consulted. Another form ofverification service is one that checks the status of bank accounts orthat performs a micro-deposit in an account (e.g., a few cents) anddetermines if a party claiming that account can accurately report theamount of the deposit, thereby showing accountholder status. A furtherform of verification may involve OFAC or other listings prepared bygovernments.

The funding sources 80 are those entities that provide money paid tocustomers 10 that is credited in favor of the customer at one or morepayment sources 90 that are linked to the data center 102 for use by acustomer. The credited funds then become available for the customer 10to access and apply to send transactions and associated fees. Fundingsources 80 may include, for example, agents receiving cash from (or for)a customer, providers of tax return loans, payroll providers, trustaccount payors, and government entities that make government (i.e.,social security) or government facilitated (e.g., child support)payments. For some funding sources 80 the funds may be provided throughthe ACH system to the customer's payment source 90.

Payment sources 90 may be services or facilities operated by the NBFI.Alternatively, there may also be third party payment (as opposed tofunding) sources 90, such as bank accounts and credit or debit cardaccounts with companies that have contractual or network relations withthe NBFI. A further class of system participants is payees 94,recipients of a send transaction, which may be individuals orbusinesses. These recipients may receive a money transfer in any of theseveral ways offered by an NBFI and its agents, e.g., cash or moneyorder at an agent, company or personal bank account deposit, home oroffice delivery, etc.

In the system as shown in FIG. 1, customers 10 who wish to takeadvantage of the system set up a distribution profile 52 in a database54 and then provide instructions to perform the transactions enabled bythat profile 52. The first step in making a distribution profile 52 isfor the customer to provide registration information. This is basicpersonal identification information, e.g., name and address, telephonenumber and also qualification information, which is a specified form ofidentification sufficient under applicable regulatory rules to permitthe individual to make use of at least the basic level of moneytransfers, possibly also higher levels. In addition, registrationrequires multifactor authentication information and identification of atleast one payment source 90 for funding transactions. This may be aprepaid or debit card that the NBFI is authorized to issue to thecustomer and for which the NBFI has made funding arrangements. This isadvantageous, because the NBFI will itself have records of the status(including funds balance) for the card and will also have a relationshipwith the funding source 80. However, as noted, the payment source 90also may be a third party credit or debit card, a bank account orsimilar sources administered primarily by others but accepted as apayment source 90 for customer transactions. In one embodiment, thedistribution profile 52 identifies a primary payment source 90 and oneor more secondary payment sources, which the NBFI may choose to use forpayment under certain circumstances.

During registration or thereafter, the customer 10 selects from amongthe available send transaction options and parameters and specifies forinclusion in the distribution profile 52 one or more transactions thatthe customer wants to initiate, preferably transactions that thecustomer expects to initiate more than once. These are defined intransaction specification records (TSRs) 60 that specify the recipient,the selected delivery options and other parameters relevant to definingone or more money transfer transactions supported in the NBFI sendsystem 120. The transactions may be selected from among those offered bythe NBFI through one or more of multiple transaction processingplatforms 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d that the NBFI has developed forconventional one-off cash transactions or other existing transactionstypes initiated from particular agent groups, or for particulartransaction types or technology platforms.

The present system 100 uses certain existing components of the NBFI dataprocessing systems 100, including the existing send systems 120 (e.g.,legacy platforms 120 a-120 d) and its compliance system 122, whichaddresses the regulatory aspects that vary by transaction amount andjurisdictions governing sender, recipient, any agent involved and/or theNBFI. Thus, the TSRs 60 are assembled so that the transaction specifiedwill normally satisfy the requirements of the NBFI compliance system 122that will be applied when the TSR 60 is initiated as a live sendtransaction. Further, the system 100 may make use of the existing NBFIsettlement system 130 to send and receive payments due to or owed fromagents, billers, funding sources 80, payment sources 90 and otherparticipants, although some modifications may be required to accommodatefee structures, timing and risk allocation that arise from the uniquecircumstances of the present system. The system may also include a feedof debit information 132 for NBFI controlled payment sources that linksto the settlement system 130. The transaction distribution controller 50serves as the coordinator for exchanging information with customers 10and preparing the transactions it processes to make use of the existingcomponents of the NBFI data center 102.

Component Description. Referring now also to FIG. 2, a customer 10 canuse a number of access portals 230, 232, 234 to deliver information tothe data center 102, i.e., to input and receive information relevant totransaction distribution. A first portal for customer use is a telephonefor contacting a CSR 230 at a call center (or network). The CSR may beone of several working at the center (or network) and receivingcommunications from customers 10 using a telephone. The telephones maybe spread over the geography served by the NBFI, as long as acommunication link to the call center 230 can be established. Forexample, the customer 10 may reach a CSR from a home telephone or mobiletelephone or use a dedicated telephone located at an NBFI agent office.The CSR is typically equipped with a terminal that provides access torecords in the NBFI data center 102. Not only does the terminal providethe means to get the customer's relevant registration and otherinformation keyed into the data center 102, the terminal can be providedwith templates and other interfaces that will guide the CSR through theregistration process and TSR building or whatever customer interactionis at hand and can be configured with CSR interfaces to help ensure thatin the customer interchange the CSR collects and properly stores in thedata center 102 all necessary registration, transaction or otherinformation.

In addition to communication with a live CSR who provides input at aterminal that connects to the NBFI data center 102, the customer 10using a telephone for access also may be handled by an interactive voiceresponse (IVR) system, in effect, an automated CSR 230. This IVR accessportal leads the user through an information collection protocoldesigned to complete the registration process or other interaction. TheIVR system can understand the necessary vocabulary or ask for certaininformation to be keyed in on a telephone or other device keypad.

A further access portal is a personal computer 232 that connects to anNBFI website via the internet or other communication channel orotherwise electronically communicates with the NBFI data center 102.Here, the personal computer (which may be owned by or merely beaccessible to the customer 10) can receive user interface screensprovided by the distribution controller 50 and configured to collectregistration or other information. These screens capture and return tothe NBFI data center 102 a customer's responses. Somewhat similar isportal access based on a personal computer or other agent terminaldevice 234 operated at an agent location. As with a CSR, the NBFI viadata center 102, including distribution controller 50, or by terminalconfiguration, can provide templates and other interfaces that willguide the agent through the registration or whatever customerinteraction is needed. The screens can be configured to help ensure thatin the interaction the agent collects and properly stores in the datacenter 102 all necessary information from the customer. One benefit ofthe agent terminal portal is that the agent can directly examinecustomer documents, such as picture ID, passport or whatever else may berequired from a compliance viewpoint and by its input inform the NBFIdata center 102 of the sufficiency of the documents presented. This maybe more difficult to do with other portals, at least without specialimaging, reading and/or authentication devices.

It is anticipated that, in addition to personal computers, customers 10may also use PDA's and other personal communication devices 232 withinternet or text message services to exchange registration or otherinformation with the NBFI data center 102, based on input screens orother prompts that guide the customer through the data input transactionand are suited to a smaller format display. Thus, the processes forcollecting registration or other information described herein can becarried out in a variety of ways on a variety of devices. Theinteractions lead to the construction of a customer distribution profile52 and related records that are stored in the database 54 of the NBFIdata center 102 and use of the profiles 52 and records to initiate sendtransactions.

Customer Interactions. The customer interactions with the NBFI system100 may be described in three categories: (1) initial registration toestablish a distribution profile 52; (2) updates and extension of thedistribution profile 52; and (3) initiating send instructions. Theseinteractions need not be separate and may be combined in whatever waysthe CSR/IVR 230, the other access portals 232, 234 and the transactiondistribution controller 50 are configured to handle. The interactionsare explained with further reference also to FIG. 2.

Initial Registration. To begin use of the system, the customer 10registers to establish a distribution profile 52 in database 54. Thisdistribution profile 52 becomes the staging platform for later sendtransactions of various kinds specified by the customer 10. The contentof the customer profile 52 and the use of the information stored in itpermit the customer 10 efficiently to set up and initiate a range oftransactions that are permitted and enabled according to thequalification and other information assembled in the customer profile52. The general content of a distribution profile 52 (e.g., profiles 52a, 52 b in FIG. 2) is in three parts, as follows:

Identification/Qualification—This is the basic personal information thatidentifies the customer 10, such as name and address, optionally atelephone number. The nature of money transfer regulations is that onlysmaller amount transactions can be done with more limitedidentification. Larger transactions require additional identification inorder for the customer 10 to be considered qualified to undertake suchtransactions. The NBFI must collect the available regulatoryqualification information as part of its compliance. For example, thetransaction size levels and identification qualifications may be asfollows:

-   -   $0.01 up to $A: name and address    -   $A up to $B: qualification/compliance data for the level below,        plus photo ID, defined by ID Type, ID no., ID issuer and Legal        ID    -   $B up to $C: qualification/compliance data for the level below,        plus occupation, any third party information and other        compliance information.        For example $A may be $250; $B may be $500 and $C may be        $9999.99. With increasing government oversight of money        transfers, there may be multiple and overlapping compliance        rules and requirements that apply to a transaction, applied        according to sender location, recipient location and location of        agents or other transaction participants.

Thus, a customer for small amount transactions may provideidentification by telephone while one who wishes to do larger valuetransactions will provide a photo ID, such as driver's license orpassport, and/or additional information of interest to regulators. Thismay need an agent, with the agent's review of the credential and theresulting data entered from an agent terminal. With higher levels ofqualification/compliance the distribution profile grows in power andalso opens up transaction opportunities for the customer and NBFI.

The NBFI will want to (and may be required to) verify at least a portionof the identification/qualification information. This may be done bytransmitting the information to various private parties that havedatabases of such information or the ability to investigate. Forexample, verification services that have public record collections mayconfirm name, address and telephone number information. Otherverification services may be able to confirm the active status of oraccountholder name on bank accounts and credit cards, or other fundingsources 80 that a customer identifies. Where possible, this verificationis done in real time, in a single customer-system interaction, but mayalso require multiple interactions. Verification may also involvesubmitting the information to a government agency or checking agovernment provided database.

Authentication—One purpose of a distribution profile 52 is to allow thecustomer 10 to initiate transactions easily. With cash no longer aprerequisite for a transaction, and assuming a customer payment sourceassociated with a transaction has an active status, including availablefunds, a primary issue is authenticity of instructions. Thus, to insurethat only the customer that established the distribution profile 52 canprovide valid transaction initiation instructions and ensure only thecustomer can modify the profile 52, it is important to have customerauthentication data established during registration. For security, thepresent system uses multifactor authentication. Thus, the authenticationsection of the distribution profile 52 includes at least a personalidentification number (PIN) and a second element, such as password or aquestion-answer pairing. In one embodiment, authentication data taken inat registration may include a biometric, such as codes or data derivedfrom a fingerprint or a retinal scan, where the customer will have theability to present that code/data later as part of his/her instructions.In another embodiment, the system may use the attributes of a physicaltoken, such as a code number generator or a digital signature stored ina cell phone, PDA or similar device. The registration process preparesthe system to perform a multifactor authentication check as a gateway toany transaction initiation or profile update. Only if the authenticationcredentials required by the distribution profile 52 are presentedcorrectly will the distribution profile be available for use orupdating. The multifactor authentication check may comprise checkingboth of two required factors (regular authentication), checking all ofthree or more required factors, matching any two of three or morefactors, checking at least one required factor (e.g., a biometric, whenavailable at a portal) and a second factor selected from two or morefactors, or other combinations of available authentication factors. Thefactor combinations found most reliable can be derived from the system'songoing analysis of fraud experience.

Transaction Staging Records—A third part of the customer distributionprofile (e.g., 52 a, 52 b in FIG. 2) is the set of transactionspecification records or TSRs 60 that are used to stage transactions forefficient execution. As part of registration, the customer 10 ispresented a menu of transaction types and parameters offered by the NBFIunder the distribution controller 50. This menu may include a variety oftransaction options from the two or more sending platforms 120 a-120 dthat the NBFI data center 102 already supports. These may include, forexample: individual to individual money transfers, where the payout isby cash or money order and where agent pick-up or courier delivery maybe specified; money transfers to a bank account, money transfers to adebit card, money transfers for bill payment, and any other transferoperation the NBFI supports and for which the sender qualifies by theidentification/qualification information in the profile 52. Thus, whilenot necessarily visible to the sender, the NBFI may execute thetransaction on one of its existing sending platforms 120 a-120 d basedon the transaction specification acceptable to that platform.

Each TSR 60 that the customer builds includes the parameters defininghow that transaction is to be executed. For example, one TSR 60 a mayinclude the basic data needed for a send transaction to an individual,such as a send transaction to a recipient-spouse at one address or agentlocation. A second TSR 60 b may specify the parameters for a sendtransaction to a recipient-grandparent at another address or agentlocation. The data needed to stage such transactions are those requiredby the NBFI's existing send systems. This typically includes recipientname and location. It may also include a form of payment and a recipientsecurity question. In some recipient locations a customer may be able tospecify a recipient deposit account or delivery instructions tailored tothe recipient. Preferably, the initial TSR 60 information includes nosend amount, because, as will be seen, that amount can be set flexiblyat the time a transaction initiation instruction is provided. However,if desired, a default send amount may be specified. All othertransaction details may be provided; these may involve varying exchangerates and fees, such that the final send amount and any associated feesare the only elements of the transaction that need to be determined tomake the send transaction ready for execution. Further, the TSR 60 maycontain or have access to all compliance information relevant to thetransaction it contemplates, so that when the TSR is used to make a livesend transaction, compliance is, wherever possible, already addressed.

The TSR 60 may include an identifier for a particular send platform thatwill handle the send transaction. The system provider may make thatselection after receiving the TSR information. If the TSR 60 defines atransaction that may be handled by more than one existing platform, theTSR 60 may specify a first platform and a secondary platform to provideredundancy in case of system problems or to allow the NBFI to direct thetransaction for processing based on network traffic conditions or costfactors (e.g., communication costs, network fees) not visible to thesenders.

When an NBFI has bill payment available, one or more bill payment TSRsmay be set up in the distribution profile 52. These identify the biller,for example, a utility, car loan creditor, etc. If the payment is of aconsistent amount, the amount of the bill payment or a default amountmay be specified; otherwise, this amount is determined at the time oftransaction initiation.

In some instances, where the customer 10 has regular payment plans orobligations, the timing and number of the transactions can be specifiedwith the other TSR details to define a payment sequence, e.g., billpayment by the first of the month or the fifth of a month, with asequence of ten monthly payments. This portion of a TSR 60 can becomethe basis for transaction initiation that is automated. In this case,the TSR 60 may provide a complete payment plan for addressing a customerdebt. Where the biller works closely with the NBFI, the NBFI can guidethe payment sequence TSR to fit biller requirements for a payment plan,where the sender is willing and able to meet these.

Updates and Changes. Once a customer 10 has established a distributionprofile 52 and becomes comfortable with using the system 100, it isexpected that a second form of interaction may occur to update andchange the content of his/her distribution profile 52 (i.e., accountmanagement by the customer). Here it is important to ensure that onlythe customer 10 associated with the distribution profile 52 makesupdates and changes, so the authentication information already in thedistribution profile 52 is used to permit or deny access to the profilerecords to be updated. The interaction begins with a demand forauthentication information. Once this is satisfied, the customer 10 mayproceed to add a new TSR 60, e.g., a new send transaction to anindividual, or an additional or different bill payment transaction.Also, the customer 10 may want to change an address, send mode or someother parameter of an existing send TSR 60. The customer 10 may use anyaccess portal 230, 232, 234 to apply for updates and changes. However,there may be only certain portals where certain kinds of updates may bemade. This may be configured into security filter logic 260 in thedistribution controller 50 (see FIG. 2) that permits or preventsdistribution profile changes of certain kinds, based on the accessportal by which the proposed update or change is presented todistribution controller 50 and/or on the type of authentication that isset up with a distribution profile 52. For example, a change in arecipient address might be made only via a CSR interaction or with abiometric provided, if the system operator felt that such a changecoming from an agent terminal might involve some risk of beingunauthorized, notwithstanding the authentication procedures.

As seen in FIG. 6 the security filter logic 260 may be implemented inthe form of a matrix of permitted or excluded actions, based on theportals and authentication information presented. This logic may beadjusted over time as experience with fraud shows where a portal and/orauthentication procedure or information with a higher level of frauddetection ability may need to be employed to execute certaindistribution profile management actions found to involve fraud risk.FIG. 6 shows an example of security filter logic 260, whereby the lefthand column 610 enumerates a number of changes or other action requeststhat a customer may make and the right hand column 620 shows thecombination of portal and authentication that is required to permit thechange (or other action) to be made. As may be seen, a change inauthentication information may have more stringent requirements than asimple change in a send transaction amount. A change in transactionamount that is less than 100% of the previous transaction to the samerecipient may have less stringent requirements than a change of morethan 100% of the previous transaction to the same recipient.

The ability to expand and change the set of TSRs 60 that stagetransactions in the customer profile 52 has benefits for both customer10 and NBFI. The customer 10 has greater ability to distribute payments,similar to the options available to a bank checking account holder(perhaps superior to such options in the case of cross-bordertransfers). The NBFI has more transactions, with the opportunity formore fees, whether these are collected from the customer 10 or from amoney transfer recipient, such as a biller.

Transaction Initiation. Much of the convenience of the present system100 comes from the flexibility provided to the customer 10 to makepayments. With a distribution profile 52 in place that includes all or asubstantial portion of the money transfers (e.g., to family members) orbill payments (e.g., to utilities, car financers, mortgage companies,lenders) comprising his/her key financial activities, the customer 10can use the access portals of the system 100 to initiate many of theseremotely, by working with a telephone, or PC or other portal accessdevice. No visits are needed to agent offices. Transactions may beinitiated without the need to fit agent business hours. The customer 10can use a telephone portal to contact a CSR, for example, and withappropriate authentication and adequate funding in the customer'spayment source 90, cause the CSR to effect one or more money transfersalready staged in the TSRs 60 in the customer's distribution profile 52.Acting on authenticated instructions, the CSR can set these up to beinitiated immediately or at a later time selected by the customer 10.

If the customer registration process includes staging some moneytransfers as payment sequences with automatic time triggers built intothe TSRs 60, the customer 10 need take no additional initiation actions.The transaction distribution controller 50 is configured to monitor thestored initiation times in all distribution profiles 52 and take actionto initiate the transfer transaction as provided by the selected dateand/or time parameters in the TSR 60. Thus, the controller periodicallyexamines the timing parameters (e.g., FIG. 3, Time1) in profiles 52 andmay initiate a send in response to these, assuming funds are present.

Each transaction must pass through the NBFI's compliance systems 122.This may include checking details of the transaction with a governmentdatabase, such as OFAC, which is intended to identify transactions bypersons or organizations identified as terrorists or involved in illegalactivities. Other compliance processing is directed as needed, based ontransaction amount and applicable jurisdictions.

Customer Planning Interface. FIG. 2 shows a feature that is enabled bythe system 100 and may be useful to customers 10. When the access portalfor transaction instructions is a personal computer or other device witha suitable electronic display, the distribution controller 50 may offerthe customer 10 a transfer instruction planning interface 250. On alarger display, this might be accommodated in one screen. On a mobilephone or other similar device with a small display, the content of theinterface may be presented in a sequence of several screens. Asgenerally indicated at interface 250 in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the interfaceauthentication component 252 first calls for authentication data, e.g.,with a PIN, password, a question-answer pairing, and/or token orbiometric. Instructions and response formats may be provided as shown at252 in FIG. 3. This interface is further configured with a transactionplanner component 254 to allow a customer 10 who has satisfiedauthentication tests to receive a transaction planner screen displaythat shows the staged transaction options established in the TSRs andallows selection among these. Because each selection involves specifyingat least a send amount and possibly a currency exchange issue or a fee,further screens may present the user with the results of his/herselections, by transaction and cumulatively.

Further, as seen in greater detail in the sequence of screen contentexamples in FIG. 3, the interface 250 with an interactive planner toolscreen 254 may permit a customer 10 to view the funds available in thepayment source 90 linked to the distribution profile 52, and/or to entera total amount of funds the customer wishes to deploy and then allocatethese to two or more transactions defined by TSRs 60. In one embodiment,the customer 10 may allocate selected percentages to selected sendtransactions, with the interface showing the resulting send amounts andany associated fees. The customer 10 also may specify some fixed dollar(or other currency) amounts and percentages of available funds and againsee the resulting send amounts, including exchange rates and anyassociated transaction fees. Thus, the system provides customer 10 adistribution planning tool (akin to a mini-spreadsheet) that assistsjudgments as to the multiple possible transactions supported by thedistribution profile 52 and coordination between them. In particular,the interactive planner tool may perform calculations based onpercentages, fixed amount allocations, and transaction fees and exchangerates that become known, so that actual cost of one or more sends ispresented with sub-totals and totals. This helps facilitate consistentinstructions reflecting customer desires.

The interface as seen in FIG. 3 can further offer an initiation timeselection by transaction (e.g., Send1 Time1, Send 2 Time2). If thecustomer 10 has money transfers to be made at different times, these canbe specified when send instructions are finalized. In the case where theNBFI has its own pre-paid card as a payment source or otherwise hasavailable balance information, the NBFI can show in a planner toolscreen 254 (FIG. 3) a customer balance at the payment source 90remaining after the selected transactions are paid for. In oneembodiment, the interface may permit the customer 10 to deploy theentire available balance and show the result if that entire balance wereto be used and allocated by percentage and/or dollar (or other currency)amount. Each of these facilities helps the customer 10 exercise greatercontrol over his/her available funds and to coordinate among thetransactions (which can now be dealt with as a group) and address anycurrency change issues identified during instruction formulation thatmight make certain transactions more or less favorable than the customer10 anticipated before receiving the planner 254 information.

Account History; Account Management. Another aspect of the interface asshown in FIG. 3 is the option for a customer to review account historyor to initiate account management features. Account history may be ofinterest to a customer in making decisions about future transfertransactions. Using an account history interface screen 256 (FIG. 3),the system 100 can provide the ability to select a view of transactionhistory by time frame or by recipient or by a combination of both. Thecustomer 10 may also select a delivery mode for additional historyinformation, such as e-mail or a statement printed and delivered byregular mail. With an account management interface screen 258 (FIG. 3),the system 100 offers the customer 10 the option (described above) toupdate a TSR 60 by changing one or more of its parameters, or to add anew TSR 60 or delete one. To the extent a customer 10 wishes to changethe data used for authentication, that may be initiated here as well.

Funding the Payment Sources. As noted above, the system 100 contemplatesthat a customer profile 52 will be based on use of one or more paymentsources 90. As also noted, a favorable payment source 90 for an NBFI isa prepaid card that is under the NBFI's control. In some cases, the NBFIis permitted to issue the card to customers 10. In other cases, the NBFIwill work with another issuing party, with the issuing party's brand ora co-branding or private label arrangement. In any event, the NBFIcontrolled card is favorable as the payment source 90, because thecrediting and debiting can be done with account records kept by theNBFI. For example, NBFI XYZ Company may issue the XYZ prepaid card. Thiscard can be funded by an initial cash payment made by the cardholder orby another funding source 80 for the cardholder. The amount funded thenbecomes available for use wherever the card is accepted. NBFI XYZCompany may wish to use the card as a funding source for money transfertransactions under the present system 100. NBFI data center 102 througha data exchange with its settlement system 130 then keeps track of theinitial balance and all debits, whether from use of the funds for moneytransfers instructed using a distribution profile 52 or from otherpermitted uses, such as ATM withdrawals, or retail purchases atparticipating merchants. The NBFI data center 102 will then have anexact or approximate view of the account status, including balanceavailable, on the NBFI prepaid card as payment source 90, depending onthe speed of transaction processing. This permits the NBFI to checkaccount status to advise a customer 10 as to payment source 90 fundsavailable for transaction instructions using the customer's distributionprofile 52 and to provide a transaction planner interface 254 asdescribed above that permits allocation of funds known to be available.

On the credit side of a prepaid card as payment source 90, when the NBFIworks with an entity that is a regular funding source 80 for thecustomer 10, the NBFI can coordinate regular credits from funding source80 to payment source 90. These credits may be based on employer payrollor other payments to an employee-cardholder, or based on regularpayments from a known source such as a trust account, a governmentpayments program, a government-facilitated payment program (e.g., childsupport) or from a tax refund. Thus, the NBFI data processing system mayreceive data feeds from funding sources 80 or transactions from the ACHsystem, with information on payments to be credited to the card andapplies those credits to replenish the balance of a payment source 90.

The NBFI may also work with other payment sources 90. It may permit thedistribution profile 52 to designate a bank account as a primary orsecondary funding source. It may permit a credit card to be designatedas a secondary funding source. Each of these other funding sources 80has different risk issues. It becomes a matter of the NBFI's riskcalculations as to what payment sources 90 are acceptable for linking tothe distribution profile 52 and using for any particular requestedtransaction.

Send System. Once a transaction is initiated by a customer 10, it ispassed on to the NBFI send system 120. As noted, the present system 100is most effective if a transaction initiated from a customerdistribution profile 52 can be formulated by the distribution controller50 and then, with data from the applicable TSR 60 and supplemented withthe customer initiation instructions, be passed to one of the NBFI'sexisting send systems 120 a-120 d with little or no deviation from theNBFI's data processing for send transactions that may be generated fromagent cash transactions or web-based credit card transaction or othercustomary sources of money transfer transactions where the sametransaction platform is used.

As with distribution profile updates, portal-based control overtransaction initiation may be configured into security filter logic(similar to that in FIG. 6) that may permit or prevent transactioninitiation of certain kinds, based on the access portal by which theproposed transaction initiation is presented to distribution controller50 and the authentication information presented. For example, a largervalue transaction might be made only via a CSR interaction, if thesystem operator felt that such a transaction coming from an agentterminal might involve an unacceptable risk of being unauthorized,notwithstanding the authentication procedures. As noted above, thesecurity filter logic can be implemented in the form of a matrix ofactions and permitted or excluded transaction types, by portals andauthentication. This logic may be adjusted over time as experience withfraud shows where a portal with a higher level of fraud detectionability may need to be employed to execute certain transactions found toinvolve fraud risk. The matrix format makes it simpler to adjust thesystem parameters.

Settlement. The NBFI's settlement systems 130 may be used for paying thevarious parties involved in a transaction other than the recipient. Thismay include payments to agents for a role in a send or receivetransaction initiated by the system, payments to billers initiated bythe system, or placing debits on credit cards where a payment source 90is a regular third-party issued card. These settlement payments mayinvolve ACH transfers or connections to various other payment networks.The settlement activity is largely conventional for the NBFI, other thanthe distribution transaction that gave rise to it, because thedistribution profile uses existing send systems.

Method Overview. FIG. 4 is a flowchart 400 showing the operation of thepresent system with respect to a particular customer. At step 410, thesystem receives registration information from a new customer, which maycome from the various access portals 20 shown in FIG. 1. At step 412,the system determines whether the registration information presented canbe verified. If not, the registration process is terminated at step 414,or suspended if the customer might provide further information forsuccessful verification. If verification is successful, the systembegins to build a distribution profile 52 at step 416, by solicitingidentification and qualification information and also the authenticationinformation. Once these are adequately provided, the customer is askedto build one or more TSRs. Templates for gathering the required TSR datamay be provided. Once the distribution profile is complete, the customermay proceed with a transaction or may change the distribution profile.This may be immediate or it may be later, thus, at step 420 the systemawaits customer contact.

At step 422, the system receives customer contact and at step 430 thesystem asks for authentication data and checks to see if this customercan be authenticated. If not, then at step 432, the interaction isterminated. If authentication is successful, at step 434, the systempresents the various profile options for the distribution profile. If atstep 436, the customer selects the option to request a distributionprofile update or change, the data for effecting the change are receivedand the distribution profile is revise and re-stored for later use, witha return to step 420 where the system awaits customer contact. If thesystem has not received a request for a distribution profile update orchange, at step 440 the system checks to see if the customer hasselected the option of requesting that a money transfer transaction beinitiated. If not, the customer may be referred to a CSR to handle theissues raised by the customer. If the customer is requesting that amoney transfer transaction be initiated, at step 444, the systempresents the TSR options in the customer's distribution profile and, ifthe access portal permits, may present a planning tool. At step 450, thesystem receives the customer's TSR selection(s) and at step 452 thesystem presents the TSR details for completion of amount or othertransaction details and for setting up receipt of customer confirmationthat a money transfer as now defined by the TSR and the customerinstructions is to proceed. At step 454, before finalizing thejust-defined send, the system runs a payment source status check, whichmay include checking closed account lists, the actual balance availableat the payment source 90 or other available funds or account data fromthe payment source 90. If this status check shows that there are notsufficient funds or the payment source 90 is otherwise not available,then the transaction is terminated at step 456, with a correspondingmessage. As an option (not shown), if there is a lesser amount of fundsthat is available, the customer can be presented an option to proceedwith the transaction with a lesser send amount that is consistent withavailable funds.

If the payment source 90 will support the transaction, the systemproceeds to step 460, where the compliance system 122 is applied to seeif a transaction at the requested level is consistent with applicablecompliance requirements. If this compliance check shows that there is acompliance problem, then the transaction is terminated at step 462, witha corresponding message. If the compliance check permits thetransaction, the system proceeds to step 464, where the customer ispresented a summary of the send amounts and/or payment amounts and feesfor the customer selected transaction(s) and asked to approve andconfirm the transaction(s). If no confirmation is provided, the customercan be redirected to a part of the process where the TSR selectionoptions are again presented, such as step 444, or the interaction can beterminated. If confirmation is provided, the system takes the customerselected transactions as defined in the TSRs and customer instructiondetails provided to complete the transaction definition(s) and at step470 formulates these into one or more send transaction records which atstep 472 are provided to the NBFI send systems. Once the sendtransaction is finalized and sent off for execution, at step 474 thesystem passes the settlement data that follow from the transaction on tothe settlement system 130. At step 480, the system forwards anytransaction identifier codes to the customer, for communication to therecipient as needed. At step 482, the system awaits confirmation offulfillment of the send transaction. At step 484, the system sends anyupdates to settlement data that may arise in connection with sendtransaction fulfillment on to settlement systems 130.

FIGS. 5A-5D are sample screens for an implementation of the method andsystem discussed above. FIG. 5A shows an opening screen 510 in which acustomer may begin to build a distribution profile by use of a template.This screen calls for entry of personal information, bank accounts andcredit cards as payment sources 90. (In other implementations, prepaidand debit cards may be shown as payment sources 90.) It also allows apassword change to be initiated. FIG. 5B shows the sender side template520 for formulating a TSR 60. It first asks for credit card informationfor a funding source 80 and then for sender information. After the firstTSR 60 is formulated, this screen may be pre-populated. FIG. 5C showsthe recipient side template 530 for formulating a TSR 60. This includesa customer-selected test question and test answer in addition to nameand address fields. It also permits messages to be entered. FIG. 5Dshows a screen 540 for selecting the amount, destination and deliveryoption parameters for a send transaction staged in a TSR 60. This screenalso provides customer control for saving the TSR. Once this TSR 60 issaved, the distribution profile has a template for use whenever thecustomer wishes to select this send transaction as one to be executed.Typically, the customer would set up several of these for the customer'srepeated send transactions. Slightly different screens may be presentedto create the template for a bill payment money transfer transaction.

Although the present invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for initiating transactions, the methodcomprising: receiving registration information and money transfertransaction specifications from an access portal, the registrationinformation identifying a payment source for staging a plurality ofstaged send transactions based on the money transfer transactionspecifications; generating a customer profile at a data center, based onthe registration information; storing the money transfer transactionspecifications in the customer profile at the data center; identifyingthe customer profile at the data center in response to an initiationinstruction and associated authentication data received at the datacenter from a customer, wherein the customer initiates the staged sendtransaction remotely with a portal access device; identifying one of themoney transfer transaction specifications, based on the initiationinstruction; verifying a status of the payment source for funding one ofthe staged send transactions, according to the identified money transfertransaction specification; and initiating the staged send transactionfor delivery of a send amount based on the status of the payment sourceat a time the send transaction is initiated; wherein the send amount isset at a time of the initiation instruction and is not included in theidentified money transfer transaction specification.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising the data center through data exchange with asettlement system tracking debits from retail purchases at participatingmerchants.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the portal access devicecomprises a personal computer, mobile computer, mobile phone or personaldata assistant communicating with the data center.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the authentication data are stored on the portal accessdevice.
 25. The method of claim 4, wherein the authentication datacomprise a digital signature.
 26. The method of claim 1, wherein theauthentication data comprise biometric data presented by the customer.27. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer specifies for inclusionin the customer profile one or more transactions to initiate more thanonce, the transactions defined in transaction specification records thatspecify a recipient and delivery options therefor.
 28. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the transaction specification records contain or haveaccess to compliance information relevant to the transactions, so thatwhen used to make the send transaction live, compliance is alreadyaddressed.
 29. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodicallyexamining timing parameters in the customer profile and initiating thesend transaction in response to the timing parameters, wherein thecustomer stages payment sequences with automatic time triggers and needtake no additional initiation actions.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising: awaiting customer contact; and receiving customercontact, wherein the customer proceeds with a transaction or changes thecustomer profile.
 11. A transaction system comprising: an access portalconfigured to receive registration information and money transfertransaction specifications, the registration information identifying apayment source for staging a plurality of send transactions based on themoney transfer transaction specifications; a database configured tostore a customer profile based on the registration information, whereinthe money transfer transaction specifications are stored in the customerprofile; and a controller configured to: identify one of the moneytransfer transaction specifications stored in the customer profile inresponse to an initiation instruction and associated user authenticationdata, wherein the customer initiates the staged send transactionremotely with a portal access device; verify a status of the paymentsource for funding one of the staged send transactions, according to theidentified money transfer transaction specification; and initiate thestaged send transaction for delivery of a send amount, based on thepayment source having available funds for the delivery at a time thesend transaction is initiated; wherein the send amount is determined atthe time the send transaction is initiated and is not included in theidentified money transfer transaction specification.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the data center is configured for data exchange with asettlement system to track debits from retail purchases at participatingmerchants.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the portal access devicecomprises a personal computer, mobile computer, mobile phone or personaldata assistant communicating with a data center comprising the databaseand controller.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the authenticationdata are stored on the portal access device or presented by thecustomer.
 15. The system of claim 11, further comprising one or moretransaction specification records that specify a recipient and deliveryoptions in the customer profile, wherein the customer specifies one ormore transactions to initiate more than once as defined in thetransaction specification records.
 16. The system of claim 15, whereinthe transaction specification records contain or have access tocompliance information relevant to the transactions to satisfyrequirements of a compliance system applied when initiated, such thatcompliance is already addressed when used to make the send transactionlive.
 17. The system of claim 15, further comprising automatic timetriggers built into one or more of the transaction specificationrecords, wherein the controller is configured to initiate the sendtransaction as provided by the one or more transaction specificationrecords and the customer need take no further initiation actions.
 18. Amethod for initiating transactions and tracking debits from retailpurchases, the method comprising: receiving registration information andmoney transfer transaction specifications from an access portal, theregistration information identifying a payment source for staging aplurality of staged send transactions based on the money transfertransaction specifications; generating a customer profile at a datacenter, based on the registration information; storing the moneytransfer transaction specifications in the customer profile at the datacenter; identifying the customer profile at the data center, in responseto an initiation instruction and associated authentication data receivedat the data center from a customer, wherein the customer uses the accessportal to initiate the send transaction remotely, more than once,working with a portal access device; identifying one of the moneytransfer transaction specifications, based on the initiationinstruction; verifying a status of the payment source for funding one ofthe staged send transactions, according to the identified money transfertransaction specification; initiating the staged send transaction fordelivery of a send amount based on the status of the payment source at atime the send transaction is initiated; and through data exchange with asettlement system, tracking debits from retail purchases atparticipating merchants; wherein the send amount is set at a time of theinitiation instruction and is not included in the identified moneytransfer transaction specification.
 19. The method of claim 18, whereinthe authentication data are stored on the portal access device orpresented by the customer.
 20. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising the customer specifying for inclusion in the customer profileone or more transactions to initiate more than once, the transactionsdefined in transaction specification records that specify a recipientand delivery options therefor.